Eco-driving Will Save You Money

Your choice of car has a big effect on the environment but whatever car you have there are small things that you can do to reduce your co2 emissions, pollution and energy usage. These are helpful tips that as well as saving the environment can help you save some extra cash.

We all know how important it is to maintain ours cars. Your car’s manual will give you all the information necessary so if you are unsure about anything to do with your car then consult the manual. Each car differs slightly so what worked for an older car you may have had might not work on a new car.

When preparing to go on any journey you should empty any unnecessary object from your car. This normally means clearing out the boot as this is where the majority of the junk seems to be in someone’s car. Remember, more weight means higher fuel consumption.

Removing items such as bike and roof racks will help make your car more streamline. If items such as these are necessary then ensure you pack other items well to reduce any unnecessary space being taken up.

If you are going somewhere unknown, then plan your journey before you leave. Satellite navigation systems can be purchased at competitive prices at the moment and can save you a considerable amount of fuel should you get lost. This is not only stressful but fuel consuming and simple thing like a sat nav or map can help you save time and money.

Where possible, you should combine shorter trips as one longer trip is more economical than a few shorter ones. Picking the kids up can be combined with doing the shopping or visiting family members, all this adds up over a period of time and can help you save on fuel. Try and drive at steady speeds and stick to the speed limits, accelerating and decelerating is not good for the engine and can have a negative effect on your fuel consumption.

Changing gear as soon as possible is a great way of saving fuel, try changing gear at around 2000 rpm for diesel cars and for petrol cars at 2500 rpm. This is so useful that modern cars are often fitted with gear change indicators telling the driver when it’s most economical to change gears.

Air conditioning is great when you are in hot places but as it rarely gets to such unmanageable temperatures in the UK so why not just wind the windows down for some fresh air? Air con systems use a lot of fuel so you should only use them when you really need to if trying to be more economical.

By: Phil Adams-Wright

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Phil has been writing on various car finance related subject such as used cars and car loans to help find the right car for you